Hiking and Biking Opportunities

Van Sickle Trail Hike The Van Sickle Bi-State Park entrance is located where Montreal Avenue and Park Avenue meet, behind Harrah's Casino Resort. The walk from Harvey's Hotel, the Conference Hotel, to the hiking trail that begins at Van Sickle Bi-State Park is just a few minutes.

Beginning at Van Sickle Bi-State Park, it is an easy to moderate hike up the Van Sickle Connector Trail to the Van Sickle waterfall. En route, you will enjoy wonderful views of the Lake Tahoe basin. The hike to the waterfall is about 20 to 30 minutes at a moderate pace. The lower level of the trail is easy as it winds through some boulder outcroppings. The hike gets a bit steeper and becomes more of a moderate hike about 10 minutes into the hike. You will see views of Mount Tallac, the South Lake Tahoe casinos, Edgewood Golf Course, and the Lake Tahoe North Shore far off in the distance. You can then reverse your route and return to the Conference Hotel. The total hiking time would be about one hour.

If you want a longer hike, then you can continue beyond the waterfall and head up to The Tahoe Rim Trail. The Van Sickle Connector Trail is 3.6 miles from its start and the Van Sickle Bi-State Park to where it meets up with The Tahoe Rim Trail.

Some may want to hike and then go on the MS Dixee Dinner Cruise. The shuttle to the MS Dixee leaves the Conference Hotel at 5:00PM. It would be very feasible to do the shorter waterfall hike, return to the Conference Hotel, and make the MS Dixee shuttle at 5:00 PM.

Unless you hike briskly, do not stop much, and do not freshen up much when you return to the Conference Hotel, it is not likely you can hike to the Tahoe Rim Trail and still make the 5:00PM shuttle to the MS Dixee. You could take this longer hike and make the MS Dixee Dinner Cruise if you have a rental car and drive the car to Zepher Cove where the MS Dixee departs. If you do not have a car and want to take a long hike, you will probably have to forego the MS Dixee Dinner Cruise.

South Tahoe Trail Bike Ride

From a location within walking distance of the Conference Hotel, you can rent a basic mountain bike for about $30 and rent a higher end "demo" bike for about $50. If you want to rent a bike a ride the South Tahoe mountain trails, the conference organizers will arrange that for you.

Van Sickle Bi-State Park, which is located just South of the Conference Hotel behind Harrahs Hotel, is open to bicyclists. This is the only park that crosses into two states, 575 acres of the park is within Nevada and 150 acres in California.

You can bike up the Van Sickle Connector Trail to the Tahoe Rim Trail. From the Tahoe Rim Trail, you can travel Southwest. As you do, you will experience many wonderful views of the Tahoe Basin. As you travel Southwest, there are a two opportunities to turn downhill and head back toward the lake, which is the same direction as town and the Conference Hotel. View the possibilities.

If you want to make the MS Dixie dinner cruise, you need to be at the Conference Hotel to catch the shuttle at 5:00PM. Or, if you have rented a car, you need to get to the MS Dixie location at Zepher cove by 6:00PM. Of course, if you do not want to go on the dinner cruise, you can enjoy your mountain biking for a longer time.